How do you keep on top of laundry?

[freshlander]

Here's a question for parents of young kids. I am trying to mend my slovenly ways - no scratch that- it ain't for want of trying - but I can never seem to keep on top of our huge laundry pile. Please, please take me through your routine and give me your tips. We have no tumble drier and everything takes forever to dry in winter. How do some people manage to keep their homes completely clear of washing? We seem to always have sheets hanging on the backs of doors etc, a huge pile waiting to be put away and no room on the racks cos everything is damp. Help!

It's a constant battle

Stuff is always washed and dry

It's the putting it away that gets me

4 of us - 2 adults, 4yo, 2yo. I wash 6 days a week. One laid a day every day except a Saturday when I do 3 loads - sheets from our bed, towels, and kids' sheets/towels. Two of the weekly washes are cloth nappies. Every so often I put through a hand wash cycle.

We have a drier though - had to get one as we developed dreadful condensation in one room, ventilation was terrible despite window being open while things dried.

We are a family of 6, though oldest 2 kids are at uni so here half the year.

I do a minimum of 1 load a day in an 8kg washer. I always put a load on every morning before I leave the house, and put most or all of it in the drier when I get back. Otherwise, I'd be drowning in laundry.

At least once a week I will do 3 or 4 loads to catch up and get the bedding done.

I am v slovenly and only make things work by having 'rules'. We don't have a drier and I think you have to accept that you will have washing hanging around at this time of year.
Mon: sheets etc
Tue: darks
Wed:Towels
Thurs: Wools
Fri: trousers
Sat: dh work shirts + lights
darks
Sun: me in control of the TV remote for the evening, massive sort out into a basket per person, big ironing session.
Mon: put laundry away and start again!

We are three here and follow the 'scratch 'n' sniff rule: if it isn't dirty/smelly, we wear it again.

I also do 2-3 loads per week and luckily live in a country warm enough to dry outside. However, if it is raining, I'll put a plastic cover across the horse (clothes horses outside, can't get washing lines here), and leave it out.

Also, as soon as it's in, it's put away, we don't have laundry hanging about. Get older dc to help/do their own.

I do a load everyday and have set days for each type of wash, so bedding always gets done on a Tuesday, School Uniform on a Friday, DH work shirts and his other clothes on a Saturday. Everyone in the house knows which day is for what. I don't have a tumble drier, so everything gets put on airers this time of year, is put in the airing cupboard when dry and is put away the morning of the following day.

We have a washer drier but I'm too right to use it so as a result it's only been used twice since august both for a friend.

I was every other day as a rule unless we have been extra messy and have specific days for certain things, Wednesday is towels Thursday is sheets and bed linen as an extra wash. I don't wash until the airer is clear - we have two (one old fashioned 3 way fold and a new upright 3 teir (£15 wilkinsons) also sheets and towels are only dried on radiators.

In the winter it takes a day and a half to dry (we have an open fire so if that's going a lot less) in the summer on the line I can get a load dried in 3 hours :)

Don't know if any of that is relevant or helpful but I was on a roll

I empty the washing basket as often as possible. Every other day. I seem to have duvets and fitted sheets hanging over doors permanently. And 3 white racks leaning against radiators, with jeans etc on radiators. Drives me mad.
Am going to invest in a Lakeland heated rack/ airer. £90

I've seen the bottom of my laundry basket 5 times in two years. And three of those times was due to my mum taking away all the washing to do at hers.

I wish I knew!!

Like another poster, I think we have too many clothes - if we had fewer they wouldnt be piled up waiting to be washed or put away, I would have to turn gjem.round more quickly.

I do two to three loads every day, the two older dd's sort and put away all laundry for 30 mins every day. I have a tumbe dryer opulent ope without one.

Ahh couldn't

I do a light coloured wash at the weekend, a couple of shirt and school skirt washes each week (use the easy iron option on the washing machine so don't have to iron) 2 x dark/coloured washes per week. Couple of towel /swim stuff washes per week. Think that's it

Get a dehumidifier, alternative to a heated airer.

I don't have a tumble dryer. I just hang stuff on airers or the washing line in summer

Is the problem getting the clothes in the machine and washed or dried and then out away?

I do a load every day sometimes it's not quite a full load but just to keep on top of it, i put it on by 7 am at the latest and by the time I'm back from taking ds to school it's ready to be dried.

I do use the tumble drier for socks and towels but other stuff that can't be tumble dried is usually dry by bed time (11pm ish) and i put it all away then, ready for the next day.

Can you just turn the heating up to get it to dry quicker?

I have found that hanging things over the banisters means they dry really quickly, I guess it's because the hot air rises there.

I wash every day, at least one load.i hold back beds for a dry day if there is one To get them on the line.

I find spacing stuff out on the maiden helps a lot. One load over two aires dries twice as fast. Hanging towels over two bars so that they do not have any folded areas if that makes sense. I do have a drying room which helps and an open fire.

If I have a backlog I hang adult clothes on hangers over the fire ( on mantle ) it looks rubbish but then it's ready to be hung in the wardrobe. I also find cotton shirts on hangers hung on the curtain rail with an open window dry in no time, but that only works on a day when I'm airing the house.

The best tip is to put them away creased, if you need to iron them get them out on ironing day, better then looking at them all week in a great pile.

Roll on summer!

I do pretty much what Mrs Oakenshield does. I agree that some people wash unnecessarily. None of us do a physical job or get particularly sweaty so T-shirts get worn 2 or 3 times before washing. Towels and bedding get changed once a week. Jeans get worn for a week or two. The only daily changes are underwear. There are three of us and I usually do 4 loads a week.

I've stopped washing stuff that can be worn again. DH has a manual job, so needs a clean t shirt each day, my top gets checked and if its ok I wear it again, if not, in the washing pile. The dc used to get a clean top every day, again, now I check and they wear it again tomorrow normally, exception to this is dc3, who is aged 3. Her clothes are always dirty. Towels once a week, bedding, probably every fortnight, unless its really sunny and can get them on the line in the summer. Lowering my standards has really helped my washing crisis and making everyone help me as also done wonders to getting it all done. I don't wear all the clothes, so shouldn't be solely responsible for getting it all clean and put it away. (I work 36 hours a week, so not available for washing chores the whole time)

If it's fine, I still hang stuff outside - the windy days recently have pretty much got stuff dry.

I've got a washer dryer which I use occasionally. I sometimes finish things off in the dryer if they come off the line wet, or I just hang them on the airer overnight - they seem to dry much quicker once they've been outside.

I tend to do 2-3 washes twice a week or have been known to do 6 in one day.

I bought a Lakeland heated airier, & the stuff that takes up lots of room ie. sheets & towels I bag up & dry at the launderette.

If I'm running out of time I pay for a service dry where they dry it & fold it all for me, this usually saves on the ironing too.

I have 2 ikea bags of clean washing to sort, fold, put-away or iron.

Firstly, a 9kg washer (bigger machine means can just do one dark and one lights wash and that's everything washed). Secondly, we haven't git a tumble drier either, had washing drying everywhere, along with dampness and mould. Recently bought a dehumidifier, we hand the washing on a big fold out rack in one room, pop the dehumidifier on laundry mode overnight and shut the door, and it's all dry in the morning! Plus no more mould or wallpaper peeling, damp stinky laundry or water running down windows!

Wash stuff less often

1. Lower your hygiene standards: If clothes have not been puked on twice or shat on once, wear them again. Generally we have a three day rule, as in, only change every three days unless one of the above applies.

1. Don't iron. Ever.

1. Buy your clothes cheap and buy lots of them. That way, you can have a full laundry basket, a full washing machine, and a full wardrobe all at once.

I find seeing an empty washing basket so satisfying! I know I should get out more! We are a family of 4 - newborn and 3yr old. Obviously not for everyone but with DC2s arrival I enlisted the help of an ironing lady. She takes all bedding and DHs shirts. Everything else goes in the dryer and folded straight away and put away. Can't stand looking at clothes about the place! I probably do at least one load per day, more on weekends. No wonder my energy bills are sky high!